2014.08.1202:48:24UTC+00UK retail sales up in July

Latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show that sales in the UK spiked up last month led by spending on non-food products.

According to BRC data, total spending on retailers increased by 1.3% in July compared to the same period from the previous year to improve on June’s weak rate of 0.6%. However, when translated to an alike for like basis, which is the measure of choice for equity analysts since it takes out the effects of floor space changes, sales are shown to have dropped by 0.3% for the year to disappoint forecasts of a 0.6% gain.

Leading the increase in retail are purchases for furniture where sales climbed at the fastest rate since the beginning of the year. Another decline was present in spending on food products due to an extended period of grocers offering discounts to reach the lowest fall for its three month average since December 2008.

KPMG’s David Corquodale says that, "While non-food retailers had a stellar month, surpassing even last year's record sales performance, the grocers saw sales tumble in value as their competitive pricing continued.” Curquodale expects the trend of discount giving for food to persist in the near future.

Spending by consumers have provided a significant boost that has led to the UK’s better than anticipated recovery this year. The Bank of England, however, warns that the region’s growth rate may slow down in the latter part of the year which they may explain in detail when they release their updated economic forecasts on Wednesday.

Britain’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) is expected to reveal the official data on retail on August 21st which will take into account a larger and more diverse number of stores than the biggest stores focused BRC.